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The 2026 Transport CEO Survey

This survey has been developed to better understand how freight haulage businesses across South Africa are responding to one of the most complex operating environments in recent history. Specifically, it explores three critical areas: financial stability, customer service excellence, and technology adoption.

The insights gathered through this survey will contribute to an industry report that highlights key trends, identifies common challenges, and showcases practical strategies being used by leading operators. The goal is to provide meaningful, data-driven insights that can support better decision-making across the sector.

Participation is confidential, and responses will be aggregated to ensure anonymity.

All participants will receive a detailed report on the survey findings when concluded. Logistics News will also host a webinar lead by industry stakeholders, sharing their insights into the findings of the report and conclude with where these trends are taking the industry.

The survey should less than 10 minutes to complete.
Section 1: About your operation
1.First name
2.Surname
3.Designation
4.Company name
5.Contact email
6.Which industry vertical(s) do you service? (Select all that apply)
7.How would you describe your services? (multiple options can be selected)
8.Approximately how many different customers does your business service each month?
9.Approximate total loads or deliveries per month (enter number)?
10.Approximate total fleet size, including managed/sub-contracted vehicles?
Section 2: What your Customers Value?
11.Thinking about your customers, please rate how important each element of customer service is to your customers: (Rate 1 to 5 - where 1 is not important at all and 5 is the most important element)
1
2
3
4
5
Competitive pricing
On-time delivery (OTIF)
Proactive communication & alerts
Cargo safety and security
POD turnaround speed and quality
Capacity reliability/load acceptance
Compliance and accreditation
Driver conduct on site
Performance reporting
Section 3 — Your input on rates and profitability
12.When considering most of your clients, do you feel the rates you are charging are:
13.Which costing model do you mostly use with your customers?
14.Which of the following are the BIGGEST challenges to your profitability? Rate 1 to 5 - where 1 is not a challenge and 5 is a significant challenge to profitability:
1
2
3
4
5
Fuel price volatility
Unplanned maintenance and breakdown costs
Labour costs (drivers and admin)
Finance and insurance costs
Maintaining competitive rates against undercutting competitors
Load fill and route optimisation
Securing sufficient load volume for the fleet
Idle / wait times at customers and/or deliveries
Idle / wait times at ports
Idle / wait times at border posts
Section 4 — Cash flow challenges
15.How many days on average does it take from delivery of a load to your customer receiving the invoice? (enter nmber)
16.How many days on average does it take from invoice to receipt of payment?
17.Out of every 100 loads, approximately how many times is there a dispute on the invoice? (Enter number 0–100)
18.To what degree is the increased cost of fuel impacting your ability to continue to deliver services during the month - while waiting for payment from customers?
no impact
minor impact
moderate impact
significant impact
Section 5 — Understanding your process challenges: (Transport execution)
19.How is a load typically dispatched to the driver?
20.Out of every 100 loads dispatched, approximately how many require at least one mid-execution change (re-allocation, route change, customer slot change, driver swap)? - enter number 0-100
21.How does your operations team know in real time where a vehicle is and what stage of delivery a load is at? (multiple choices can be made)
22.Out of every 100 loads, approximately how many are affected by standing time of more than 2 hours? (Enter number 0–100)
23.What percentage of standing time costs are typically recovered from your customer?
Section 6 — Understanding admin challenges
24.Out of every 100 loads, approximately how many have a delayed or missing POD that requires chasing? (Enter number 0–100)
25.Out of every 100 loads, approximately how many are invoiced with all supporting documents complete and correct on the first attempt? (Enter number 0–100)
26.What are the most common reasons paperwork delays your invoicing? (select all that apply)
27.How are customer scorecards, KPI reports, and monthly performance packs produced? (Select all that apply)
Section 7 — Control, visibility & technology
28.Which of the following technologies do you currently use in your operation?
Yes
No
Considering it
Real-time vehicle and cargo tracking with geofencing
Telematics with reporting dashboards
Fuel management system
Job scheduling and vehicle allocation tools
Route optimisation tools
Digital PODs
Driver smart apps
Transport Management System (TMS)
Customer notification systems
Automated invoicing
29.When tendering for new business, have you noticed if greater technological capabilities could have helped secure a competitive advantage?
30.With the tools you currently have, can you accurately and easily calculate the following?
Yes
Not accurately
No
Actual cost per load
Profitability of each load
Profitability of each lane
Profitability of each vehicle
Fuel consumption reconciled with telematics and trip sheets
Toll charges reconciled back to specific trips or customers
31.Do you review and benchmark these costs monthly?
32.Do your current systems deliver on your expectations and have a positive impact on your operations?
Section 8 — Challenges of driver, vehicle and compliance governance
33.In the last 12 months, how many times was a vehicle stopped, delayed, or a driver turned back due to an expired credential or missing permit? (Enter number)
34.How do you track expired or expiring permits and licences? (Select all that apply)
Section 9 — Business outlook in tough times
35.How do you feel about your business prospects over the next 12 to 24 months?
Positive
Somewhat positive
Neutral / stable
Somewhat negative
Very negative
36.Looking ahead, how important are the following strategic priorities for you for the next 12 months? Please rate 1 to 5 - where 1 is a low priority and 5 is a high priority:
1
2
3
4
5
Cost reduction / cost management
Customer expansion / diversification
Fleet growth
Technology investment
Driver recruitment and retention
Thank you!
37.Thank you for sharing insights into your operation. None of these insights provided will be shared with any third party. Responses will be aggregated to ensure anonymity.

Please confirm if Logistics News can share relevant industry notifications & news with you via the email provided?